Occupational health consultation as a systematic approach to managing work-related musculoskeletal injuries

1991 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Richard E. Miller
2021 ◽  
pp. 216507992110266
Author(s):  
Sharon Hunsucker ◽  
Deborah B. Reed

Background Obesity is a recognized risk factor for work-related injuries (WRI). Despite the inherent safety hazards associated with farm work, research on obesity among farmers is limited giving little guidance to occupational health providers on obesity as a risk factor in farm WRI. This study evaluated the association between obesity and farm WRI. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected from farmers ( n = 100) in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Data included a survey (demographic data, farm factors, health indicators, occurrences of work-related injuries consistent with the definition of Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] recordable injuries) and direct anthropometric measures (height, weight, and waist circumference). Logistic regression was used to model any work-related injury, injuries consistent with the definition of OSHA recordables (herein called OSHA-recordable injuries), and recurrent injuries occurring during farm work performance on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. Findings Twenty-five percent of the participants reported any injuries, and 18% reported OSHA-recordable injuries. Farmers with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 had 3 times the risk for OSHA-recordable injuries and 5 times the risk for recurrent injuries. No significant relationship was identified between waist circumference and farm WRI. Conclusion This study provides evidence that increased BMI is a safety risk for farmers. Prospective studies with a larger sample are needed. Occupational health nurses and providers should educate farmers on the potential safety risk of obesity and implement weight management programs addressing obesity in farmers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Eri Shimizu ◽  
Josierton Cruz Bezerra ◽  
Luciano José Arantes ◽  
Edgar Merchán-Hamann ◽  
Walter Ramalho

Abstract Background Since 2004, Brazil has had a national policy for occupational health and safety. This policy means companies’ tax burden is altered according to the numbers of work-related accidents and ill-health amongst their workers. In 2010, a multiplication factor was introduced to this policy, called the Accident Prevention Factor. The idea of this new multiplication factor is to encourage individual employers to take initiatives to prevent accidents and ill health in the workplace. This study was designed to investigate the incidence of work-related accidents and ill-health in Brazil according to their causes, their severity, and the economic activity in which they occur, and to compare the data before and after the introduction of the Accident Prevention Factor. Methods An ecological study was conducted by analyzing the time series of work-related accidents/ill-health between 2008 and 2014 from the Brazilian social security system (Previdência Social) statistical yearbooks. Incidences were calculated per cause, economic activity, and severity of the accident/ill-health. Data from before and after the introduction of the Accident Prevention Factor were compared using the Mann-Whitney test per cause and per economic activity. Statistical analyses were made using the SPSS software, with significance set at 5%. Results A reduction in the incidence of work-related accidents/ill-health was found across all the groups of causes analyzed, except for the groups “external causes of morbidity and mortality” and “factors influencing health status and contact with health services.” Greater reductions were found for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue and diseases of the nervous system. Reductions in work-related accidents/ill-health were found in the different economic activities and in the different severity groups. The highest reduction after the introduction of the Accident Prevention Factor was in manufacturing and production (p < 0.05). Conclusions Overall, the incidence of accidents/ill-health was found to be on decline, except those with external causes of morbidity and mortality and those involving factors influencing health status and contact with health services. The biggest reduction was found in manufacturing and production. However, generally speaking progress still needs to be made in accident prevention and occupational health across a whole range of work environments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (4) ◽  
pp. e158
Author(s):  
Sherise Epstein ◽  
Bao Ngoc N. Tran ◽  
Qing Z. Ruan ◽  
Dhruv Singhal ◽  
Bernard T. Lee

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Aditira Dwi Hanani

Pregnant workers have more health risks for health problems than other workers. There are different potential hazards in different workplaces. Occupational Health and Safety Programs need to be implemented for pregnant workers in order to avoid work related diseases in various workplaces. This study aims to determine the the implementation of occupational health and safety for pregnant workers in various workplaces. This study uses a qualitative method by conducting FGD (Focus Group Discussion) with pregnant women workers from various workplaces and in-depth interviews with occupational health and safety experts. Occupational health and safety programs have been implemented for pregnant workers such as the right to maternity leave, working hours arrangements, health insurance, and special protection for pregnant workers. However, there are some workplaces that still do not provide special protection for pregnant workers. Every workplace should pay more attention to the health and safety of pregnant workers as an effort to prevent occupational accidents and work related diseases


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Liff ◽  
Ann-Charlotte Eriksson ◽  
Ewa Wikström

This article examines the characteristics of communication among managers, human resource (HR) experts, and occupational health care specialists, as they deal with such informal information as weak signals in the prevention of work-related illnesses, using a theoretical framework in which the prevention of work-related illness is analogous to theory on crisis management. This is a qualitative study in which individual and focus-group interviews were conducted in a Swedish context with occupational health care specialists, managers, and HR experts. The results suggest that organizational solutions have failed and continue to fail at controlling workers’ health problems, although the main difficulty is not in identifying the ‘right’ individually oriented weak signals. Rather, it is upper management’s reliance on formal information (e.g., statistics and surveys) – because of the difficulty in supplementing it with informal information (e.g., rumors and gossip) – that makes it difficult to improve traditional health and safety work


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-258
Author(s):  
Almas Hamid ◽  
Alizae Salaam Ahmad ◽  
Sarah Dar ◽  
Sana Sohail ◽  
Faiza Akram ◽  
...  

The present study is conducted to determine occupational health and safety hazards with special focus on ergonomic hazards among healthcare facility (HCF) workers. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted among 200 workers in five HCFs of Lahore, Pakistan. Among the reported ergonomic hazards, muscle aches/ sprains (76.5%), elbow/ wrist/ neck pain (56.0%), body posture issues (56.0%), excessive stretching of muscles (67.5%) and bending/ twisting at work (55.5%) were commonly encountered. Biological hazards included incidences of cuts/wounds/ lacerations (69.0%), contact with specimens (56.0%), exposure of airborne diseases (64.0%) and other infections (72.0%) inspite of the fact that majority (90.0%) were aware of procedures where needle stick injuries are most likely to occur and knowledgeable on occupational infections. Physical hazards included slips/trips/falls (65.0%), high noise levels (64.0%) and chemical spills (54.0%). A significant percentage of workers experienced psychosocial hazards including work related stress (77.0%) and some form of psychosocial or physical abuse (68.5%). Despite workers awareness about occupational health hazards and implementation of control measures by HCF to mitigate hazards (especially biological) prevalence of hazards was reported. Hence, there is a need to improve working standards and conditions to reduce the occurrence of ergonomic and psychosocial hazards.


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